A Recipe for Butternut Squash Gnocchi Gratin With Kale and Gruyère

This heavenly butternut squash gnocchi gratin recipe features creamy gruyère and crisp green kale for a creative spin on a more traditional gnocchi dish.

I have put off making gnocchi at home for too long. I’ve had incredible gnocchi — light, airy and softly coated in sauce, but I’ve been too intimidated to try it myself. It’s like pie dough or hollandaise where the fear surrounding toughness and breaking can keep me from trying. I’ve mastered pie dough and learned the fail-safe blender method for hollandaise and yet gnocchi continued to elude me. Afraid to fail, I put off waiting for someone to teach me how the dough should look and feel, which I find is the best way to learn something new and intimidating — by watching.

This is why I jumped at the chance to take the How to Make Gnocchi Like a Pro with chef Gerri Sarnataro. I haven’t quite finished the course but I’ve already learned about the right tools, ingredients and most importantly the proper texture of the dough in order to get light and fluffy gnocchi.

In the course, Gerri includes a recipe for butternut squash gnocchi. She serves hers with a tempting brown butter sauce, but with kale in the fridge needing to be used, I decided to turn my tender, orange dumplings into a gratin with cream and showers of Gruyère cheese.